Nepal and Himalayas Day 4

Day 19 (3-4) - Friday, November 15, 2019 - Mountain Trekking; Hike Down to Tomijung

There was a knock on the door at 6:30; Kunal was giving all of us a heads up that the sun was hitting South Annapurna and the beautiful pink morning light was astonishing. The staff at the lodge had coffee and tea out on the lawn for us. Everyone was in awe of the beauty of the day.

After the sunrise, we went back to our room to get ready for the day. Breakfast in the lodge was served at 8:00 and at 9:00 we were ready for the hike of the day to the small village of Tomijung, the Bee village.

Krishna, the manager of the Mala Lodge led the way as we set out for our trek. The steps down to the village from the lodge were treacherous, but we all made it in about one hour and twenty minutes. Only about 50 or 60 people live in the village, as the young people tend to move away, go to school, and then they seldom return.

The settlement was called the Bee Village because each home has a large hollow bamboo log inviting the bees to nest. We saw swarms of bees going in and out, collecting pollen from the many flowers growing around the homes.

The first experience was watching two women thrashing millet driving three cows tramping the grain. We were invited to help them as they drove the cows around and around a pole in the center of their courtyard stamping the dry grain. Then one of the women lifted the grain in a large basket to separate the small seeds from the stalks.

Our next discovery was talking with a farmer who was holding a young goat. He explained that it was only 11 days old. We had fun finding out about the goats and Vic tried his hand at feeding the little critters.

Krishna headed us out of the village and we met an older gentleman who was sitting in the sun. He was an 82-year old veteran of the Nepalese Regiment of the Indian Army. Although he lived in Pokhara, he owned property in the village and was there looking after his interests on the farm.

After spending about 45 minutes with the villagers, we retraced our steps and climbed back up the rocky path to our lodge. Going up hill seemed to be much easier than going down and it only took us 30 minutes to climb back up to Mala Lodge.

The lodge staff had fresh limeade ready for us when we returned. Their service has been outstanding. Lunch was ready at 12:45 and you would think we had not eaten in days. The food was simple, but after our morning trek, everyone was hungry.

The afternoon was to be on our own, but Kunal arranged another hike to a different village. Only Linh decided to go with Krishna. The rest of us stayed at the camp and relaxed, read, or just soaked up the ambience of the spectacular mountain views.

We looked at our photos and started writing the journal. As the other OAT group had gone for an afternoon trek to Tomijung, we took a shower while we still had hot water. Several people had foot massages and a few of our group napped in the warm sun.

There was a happy hour in the lodge at 5:30 and dinner was served at 6:45. The clouds began to build over the snow-capped peaks and the temperatures dropped quickly.

After dinner we organized our belongings for our travel day tomorrow. As soon as we get back to Kathmandu we will post the Journal from Day 18. From now on we will be a day or two behind, but at least everyone will know we are safe in the hands of the Hindu gods of Nepal.

Meals included: B, L, & D

Accommodations: Mala Lodge